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One small step for China set to relaunch the space race

FOR China, it’s the great leap upwards. The country is expected to announce that it will launch its first astronaut into space within weeks, potentially triggering a new space race with America.

Analysts expect the blast-off on October 1, China’s national day, or very soon after, making it only the third country after America and Russia to put one of its own citizens into space.

It is expected to be followed by the announcement of plans to establish a base on the moon, and possibly even to send missions to Mars.

Professor David Southwood, director of science at the European Space Agency, who is working with his Chinese counterparts on joint launches, said: “We expect it to happen within weeks. They are very, very close — and when the Chinese get an astronaut into space, it will change everything.”

The Chinese have been developing their Shenzhou V rocket — originally based on